Yellow Rose
by ziva2012
Summary: Sequel to Bluer Than Blue.
1. Chapter 1

"Yellow Rose" sequel to "Bluer Than Blue"

Chapter one

When General George Hammond thought back to the day, two years ago, when he had first told his two best officers about the new settlement on P1T-001, he got all misty-eyed. He had known he was going to miss those kids, and not just because they had been an asset to his command. He would miss them because they were like family. In fact he had been like a father to Samantha Carter. And Jack O'Neill was...well age-wise Jack was more like a younger brother than a son to George, even though he affectionately called Jack 'son'.

The thing that had made George think about two of his favorite people today of all days was an invitation he had received by gate messenger just that morning. The carefully folded note, in Sam Carter's neat handwriting, lay on his desk awaiting his reply. There was no doubt in is mind that he wanted to attend the event in question, and he would write and tell her so. It was just the memories of all that had transpired to keep the two apart that currently filled the General's mind, delaying him from writing his acceptance.

On P1T-001, aptly named Egeria after the Goa'uld queen who had spawned the rebellious Tok'ra race, someone else had been thinking back over the past two years. Brigadier General Jack O'Neill sat with his feet up on his desk, and on his lap he held a blonde, blue-eyed baby girl of almost twelve months of age. That is to say, he was trying to hold her...to make her sit on his lap, when all she wanted to do was get down and go exploring. Malinda, or Mellie as people tended to call her, was said to be the spitting image of her late father, but Jack thought he could see something of her mother in her too. Just then the woman in question stuck her head into Jack's office and smiled at both of them.

"Hey there, you two! How's it going? Has she worn you out yet?" Sam asked as she came to stand beside them. Now he was busy trying to keep Mellie's fingers out of his eyes. Each time he pulled her hand away, back it went again, her tiny finger jabbing at his eyeballs...one and then the other...as she giggled incessantly.

"We've been having fun, haven't we, Mellie?" Jack asked her, as he put her pudgy hand to his mouth and pretended to take a bite out of it, while making sounds as though he were eating something really tasty. Mellie giggled even more, but then Sam grabbed the baby around the middle and picked her up. Malinda let her mother know precisely what she thought of the interruption, by letting out an ear-piercing screech and then bursting into tears.

"I know you don't want to leave Uncle Jack, sweety, but it's time to go home," Sam said loudly over the crying. Jack dropped his feet from the desk and stood up as Sam began dropping things into the diaper bag on his desk. Distracted by something she'd said, Jack automatically began to help her pack up the baby's toys and other things.

"Sam, don't you think it's time you started calling me something other than 'Uncle Jack' in front of her?" he asked, a disgruntled look on his face. This wasn't the first time he had asked her this, but he hoped it would be the last. After all, in just two weeks they would be man and wife, and Malinda would be ihis/i daughter too!

Sam stopped what she was doing and reached up to plant a kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry, Jack. Old habits, you know."

Not satisfied with just a quick kiss, he put an arm around her and held her in place, giving her a long kiss on the lips. Of course Mellie had to get involved too; the baby tried to shove her index finger in between Jack and Sam's lips. Sam pulled her face away, while Jack grabbed Malinda's finger and sucked on it, causing the baby's tear-stained face to break into a huge smile once again. When she smiled like that, Jack thought she looked just exactly like Sam.

Together they managed to get the baby into her coat. Jack zipped it up and pulled the hood down snugly over her blonde curls, before tying the cord under her chin. Then he gave the baby a kiss on the nose, while he stood with his arms around both of them.

"You know I love you both very much," he said softly as he nuzzled the side of Sam's head.

"I know you do. You won't be late for dinner, will you?" Sam asked him quietly, as she stared into his dark molasses eyes. She loved him so much...always had. She sometimes found it hard to believe how much time had passed since she'd first told him she loved him. And then there had been the dark time...the time when she and Jack were separated...not by distance, but by feelings.

"No, I won't be late. I promise!" he added. She smirked at him as if to say she had her doubts. Then he watched as she gathered up the diaper bag in one hand, while clutching Mellie's squirming body in her other arm.

"Are you sure you can make it home without dropping something, Major Carter?" Jack asked as he gave her a lopsided grin.

He really wished they had some sort of smooth, dry surfaces where she could push a stroller, but for now their efforts had to be concentrated on other things, like building shelters and putting in an underground system for plumbing and electricity. Building the wind turbine/solar electric facility had taken fourteen months, and it was just the first of many that would be needed to support the ever-growing population. Paved sidewalks and streets simply had to wait, even when the rainy weather turned the dirt paths into quagmires, which it had done this week.

As he watched her leave, he noted that Sam was wearing sturdy foot gear, and her boots were laced up all the way to the top, just as they should be. He wasn't always a stickler about his people's use of proper military attire, especially since not all forms of dress were always available to them. But he did insist that everyone maintain good safety habits, and that included the wearing of protective foot gear...and protective head gear too, especially at construction sites.

"I'll be fine, Sir. Come on, junior airman, let's hit the road!" Sam said as she headed out the door.

"Bye bye, Sweety Pie!" Jack called out to both of them, as he stuck his head out the door of his office. The two female lieutenants who were working in the outer office both looked over and smiled at their boss. He could be a grouch sometimes, but when that baby was around...or her mother...General O'Neill was an absolute Teddy bear.

Figuring there was enough daylight left for him to go out and check on the progress of the new air terminal, Jack pulled on his jacket and went out to his Jeep. Very few personnel were allowed to have motor vehicles, and the only vehicles allowed on Egeria were powered by clean fuels. Jack had been very relieved when the word had first come down from the Tok'ra High Council that they didn't want their new homeworld polluted by toxic gases and other waste. He had grown up in rural Minnesota, and to him there was nothing worse than chemical plants that polluted rivers and gasoline engines that polluted the air.

In a few minutes he was driving, albeit slowly, up the sloped road to the unfinished air transportation terminal, that was to serve the Tok'ra ships when they finally brought all of their people to live on the planet. It would also serve in the future, as their ships grew in number and they ventured into space exploration.

The track, which was very muddy from the recent rains, was even worse than the last time he'd been up here. Jack down-shifted to try and get more traction, but even with the four-wheel drive, the vehicle would only creep forward up the hill with excruciating slowness. Finally he grew impatient with his progress and decided to park and walk the rest of the way to the summit, where he would have a good over-all view of the project. In less than five minutes he was standing at the top of the hill, looking down over the huge flat, paved surface approximately one hundred feet below him. 'There's the reason we can't have paved streets just yet,' he thought to himself.

This summit was a good place to get a perspective as to how things were taking shape, and so it was where Jack chose to come almost every other day. However, due to the inclement weather, this was his first trip out here this week. And since it was late in the day, all of the workers had already gone back to the city, leaving the huge complex looking deserted and desolate. Jack just stood there in the silence, watching as the sun sank beneath the horizon. It was time for him to start back.

Jack was taking one last look out over the construction site, when he heard what sounded like a distant rumble. Then he felt the ground shake, and his vision seemed to blur. Realizing that it was not his eyesight that was the culprit, but some kind of quake in the planet's surface, Jack stood there waiting for the movement to stop. After a minute or so, he heard another rumble, but this time it seemed to be coming from somewhere up and behind him. He turned around just in time to see a gigantic mud slide come rushing down the hill. In a matter of seconds it took his Jeep and a large section of the road with it. He stood awestruck and watched as a large part of the hill behind him slid down the mountain toward the flat, gray surface below. By the time the rumbling and the wave of mud stopped, about one- sixth of the gigantic landing pad was covered in a layer of brown soil.

"Well, that just sucks! Now Ill have to walk!" he complained in his usual quick-witted way of handling a stressful situation. It was more than just an inconvenience for him. The project had just suffered a severe setback, and Jack couldn't help but wonder whose head was going to roll for this mistake. 'Surely someone should have seen this coming,' he thought as he started to walk toward the slide area. Now there was only mud, uprooted trees and giant boulders, where before there had been a flat dirt roadway.

He wasn't certain he could climb over the mess, or even if he dared risk it. But he knew that walking all the way around the mountain would take at least a day, and he really didn't feel like spending the night out here. He was walking up and down along the area near where his Jeep had been parked and wondering just how stable the land was, when he heard another dull roar. Jack turned just in time to see another wave of mud and vegetation come rushing toward him, carrying everything in its path, including shrubs and trees.

"Oh, shit!" he yelled. He began to run as the ground continued to shake. Suddenly it was as though his legs were stuck in quicksand, as the mud began filling in around his feet, preventing him from moving. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something coming toward his head, and then everything went black.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Dr. Janet Frasier had arrived to consult on Jack's condition. It wasn't that the settlement on Egeria didn't have a fine medical staff. And thanks to the US Government, they even had most of the latest high tech medical equipment. But since Janet had some leave time coming to her, she had offered to go and check on Jack's condition first hand. General Hammond had been very willing for her to go, because he was very worried about Jack, and because he figured that right about now, Sam could really use her good friend there by her side.

Janet had been to the settlement on three other occasions; when Sam had first found out she was pregnant, when Martouf had been injured and died, and when Sam had given birth to Malinda. Janet, who was a real city gal at heart, thought the place was nice in a very quaint sort of way, but she certainly wouldn't want to live here!

"What do you think, Jan?" Sam asked as Janet finished her examination of the man lying in the hospital bed. His head was bandaged, but other than that he looked perfectly fine...if you didn't count the fact that he was out cold. Jack hadn't woken up since they'd found him late last night, wrapped around a tree and shoulder deep in mud.

"I think everything's being done for him that can be done. He'll probably wake up soon and start pestering Dr. Burroughs to let him out of here. Don't worry, Sam. I'm sure he'll be just fine! Jack is strong and stubborn. You're not going to lose him this easily," Janet assured her friend. She felt very optimistic about Jack's condition, and her smile showed it.

"I want to believe you, Janet. But..." Sam didn't know what else to say. She just felt so helpless and scared.

"The nursing staff will call us when he wakes up, so why don't we go and have some breakfast with Mellie? I can't wait to see her, Sam!" Janet had delivered her God daughter, who she certainly didn't get to see as often as she would have liked.

"Okay, we'll go eat something. But I'm not staying away long," Sam warned her.

"Alright, Sam. Just for a little while! But you really should try and get some rest, you know. That child you're carrying needs for you to stay healthy," she said quietly. Janet had been totally blown away when Sam had contacted the SGC to tell her friends that she was expecting again. That this child was Jack's made it especially good news.

"I know, Janet. I'll stretch out here on the empty bed when I get back. Now let's go see Mellie. She should be up and terrorizing Sgt. Jameson's toddler by now," Sam said with a laugh. The two women left the ward, pulling on their coats as they stepped outside into the brisk spring air.

Deep in the recesses of Jack's mind he was reliving the recent past...going over it in minute detail like a gold miner sifting through the silt for any signs of precious metal. What he found there was not all that precious. In fact some of the memories were downright painful, while others were very nice.

He and Sam sat on a hilltop in a little glen that he had found when they'd first arrived on the planet. Relaxing on a blanket they surveyed the entire valley, including the gathering of green canvas tents that they had called home for only two weeks. They still hadn't made love since their angry tryst while on a mission some weeks earlier, mainly because they'd both been so busy...but also because they both wanted their first time on Egeria to be special. This was like starting from scratch. This was their new home, and they were permitted to be together now. There were no regulations keeping them apart, and Jack felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders and his heart. Now Jack was hoping the time was perfect for him to show Sam exactly how much he loved her.

"Sam, I know we've talked about being together, but I would like to do more than just talk about it. I'd like to make it official." He got up suddenly and pulled her up onto her feet. Then he guided her backward to a boulder and asked her to sit down. Reaching into the pocket of his green bdu's, he pulled out a small box. She watched as he got down onto one knee, opened the blue velvet box and took out a ring. Sam held out her left hand and Jack slipped the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit, and it was the most beautiful sapphire and diamond ring she'd ever seen!

"Samantha Carter, will you marry me?" he asked, as he stared at her, tears shining in his dark eyes.

"Yes, Jack O'Neill, I will!" she replied readily.

They stumbled back to the blanket clinging to one another, lips pressed together, tongues seeking entry as they dropped to their knees. Soon their clothing was discarded, and Jack lay between her legs, worshipping her sex with hot, wet kisses, while his hands reached up to caress her heaving breasts. He intended to keep the promise that he had made to her that day in the jungle. And by her reactions, he knew he was succeeding. Sam writhed under him, moaning and tossing her head back and forth, pleas for more rushing from between her lips as she clutched at his hair...weaving her fingers through the strands of silver.

"Jack suck me...suck my clit! That's it! Jaaack, Oh, God, Jack! Yes! Harder! Ohhhh! Ahhhhhh!"

Her satisfied cries as she came and her fingers tugging his hair urged him to move...to rise above her and take her while she was still in the throes of her orgasm. His loins were aching with need, and so he climbed up over her body and stared down at her with coal black eyes, like a panther considering its prey. Should he fuck her from the front or from behind, he wondered, both options being so very appealing to him. But suddenly he found himself falling and turning until he was on his back, with a laughing Samantha Carter sitting astride his thighs.

"Now who's in command, Sir?" she asked playfully, the dimples in her cheeks making an appearance. Jack loved her smile, especially when those dimples came out to play. He also loved a woman who was not afraid to take charge...in bed or on the battle field. And so he let her take command, enjoying the feel of Sam's small hand on his cock...her lips on his cock...her warm, wet tongue gliding up the length from scrotum to glans, before she took him into her mouth.

"God, woman, you're gonna kill me," he rasped as he craned his neck to watch her. Sam let him slip out of her mouth with a pop as she rose up to look at him, saliva and pre-come dribbling from one corner of her smiling lips.

"Never, Jack! I'm just gonna play with you a little, and then I'm gonna ride you hard. That's okay, isn't it?" she asked provocatively, as she dipped her head and slipped even more of his nine inch length into her mouth. Jack's head fell back to the ground with a thud.

Suddenly Jack's comatose mind took him to a time three weeks after the proposal. They were in the tent she was using as a temporary lab, and the Tok'ra Martouf had just left. As usual he had given Jack a condescending smile as he slipped past him and out the door.

"Sam, I wish you wouldn't spend quite so much time alone with that guy. You've always got your heads together whispering about something or other," Jack said, trying to slip his arms around her waist. She side-stepped away from him and turned to face him, her eyes blazing with anger.

"He's my boss, Jack! How am I supposed to do my job, if I can't be alone with him or talk to him! And we were not whispering!" Sam yelled. Then she turned her back to him and moved over to the work table, where she was working on the plans for a communications station.

"I didn't say you couldn't talk to him, Sam. I said... Fuck! Will you look at me when I'm talking to you! Why do you always have to turn away like that?" he asked, grabbing Sam by the elbow and pulling her around to face him. Her blue eyes were like blue steel as they stared back at him...cold and unyielding.

"Please don't shut me out, Sam," Jack said calmly, but he was feeling anything but calm just now. He had come into her lab and found her and Martouf with their heads together, and then the alien had actually put his arm over her shoulders and hugged her! Jack wondered what else would have happened, if he hadn't made his presence known when he did.

"I'm not shutting you out, Sir. I'd just like to be shown a little trust, that's all. I'm going to Tolana with my team, Jack. You really have no right to stop me," she added, daring him to tell her again that she couldn't go.

He hated to argue with her about anything, and so he ignored her last statement, bending down to kiss her on the lips...just a short kiss. After all, it wasn't like they would be alone for much longer; the Tok'ra scientist had just gone to check for messages from the other snake heads, and Jack figured he would be back here any second.

Jack needed to get to a meeting, but he had one more thing on the subject that he felt he had to say. "Sam, just be careful. I've seen how he looks at you. He's got more than just work on his mind, Major," Jack warned her, and then he left her standing there.

In Jack's mind the scene quickly changed to a time a few weeks later. They had been on Egeria for exactly two months, and he and Sam had planned to celebrate the completion of the perimeter fencing with a bottle of wine and dinner in his quarters, which at that time was an eight-by-twelve-foot tent with a plywood floor, and a small sort of screened in porch at one end that served as a mud room. Jack had everything ready...the steak dinner he had ordered from the SGC, the bottle of California red compliments of Daniel, and even an orchid corsage that Janet had helped him acquire. But Sam was already twenty minutes late, and so Jack went looking for her.

He wondered if she'd forgotten their vow to celebrate together. They hadn't talked about their plans that day or even that week. In fact Jack hadn't even seen her for a few days, as they had both been very busy. When he got to the group of new tents that now served as the research facility in the growing community, he found that everything was dark, including Sam's lab. Jack was about to turn and head for his tent...the one they shared most nights, when he heard a low voice, followed by what was obviously a feminine giggle.

Since the sun had already set, Jack had his flashlight with him. He also had his gun, just in case one of those hoodats was prowling around looking for a meal. No one had been killed since they'd arrived here, but Jack figured that it was only a matter of time before one of those things got brave enough to enter the large complex. But his mind wasn't on the flora or fauna of Egeria just now. It was on the sounds that he heard coming from inside Sam's lab. And since there was no way to open the door and step onto the wooden floor without making noise, Jack didn't even try to cover up the sounds he made as he quickly entered.

He had barely taken two steps into the large tent, when the light from his flashlight fell across the center of the floor, coming to rest on a shocking sight. Jack stopped in his tracks as he stared down at the scene on the floor. There on a sleeping back that had been unzipped and spread out were Sam Carter and the Tok'ra Martouf.

Jack froze in place and stared at Sam sitting astride the alien's hips, the little yellow rose on her ass mocking him. She turned her upper body and looked toward the door, while Martouf craned his neck to see. Aware that the beam of the flashlight was preventing both of them from recognizing him, Jack decided to announce himself. Later he would wonder what had stopped him from pulling his gun and shooting that pale, conniving, snake-head bastard.

"Sam, I see you're celebrating without me," Jack said quietly.

"Oh, my God!" Sam yelped as she dismounted and fell onto her back. The pasty-faced alien just laid there on his back, his little pecker red and shiny with her moisture. Sam pulled the edge of the sleeping bag over her and sat there shaking.

"You don't need to be so shy, Sam. Remember I've seen it all before...even that cute little rose on your ass. Marty, did you see that yellow rose tattoo on Sam's ass?" he asked conversationally. Martouf sat up and looked at Jack like he was speaking Klingon.

"Tell Marty what the yellow rose signifies, Sam." When Sam didn't respond, Jack yelled at her, his face red with anger. "Tell him!"

"It means..." By this time Sam was beginning to cry. "It... stands for...for freedom," she said in a broken voice.

"Yes, freedom. She got it when she graduated from the academy, Marty. Did you know that? Probably not," Jack said, answering his own question. "Well, guess what, baby...now it can stand for your freedom from old Jack!"

"Jack, it's not what you think!" she cried. "Give me a chance to explain!" she sobbed, the tears flowing freely down her face. Meanwhile Martouf was scrambling to locate his clothes which were strewn on the floor next to him. Jack gave Sam a disgusted look, and then turned his attention to the Tok'ra.

"Shut the fuck up, Sam. What's the matter, Marty? Ass gettin cold down there?" Jack asked as he watched Martouf wriggle into his underwear.

"Sam, you know I always had you figured as the kind of woman that had more class than this. Well, I guess I was wrong. Oh, well... I think I'll see if Nurse Johnson wants to eat the steak I got for you. There's a nice California Merlot too. And I bet she'll love the corsage I got you. Ta, ta, you two!" Jack said with a wave of his hand. And then he backed out of the tent and shut the door, leaving the two in the dark.

He hadn't gone to see Nurse Johnson, but he had eaten his steak...and most of Sam's too. And he had most definitely drank the wine...and a bottle of scotch as well. Yep, that was a very memorable night!

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

The one nice thing about a small community like this, Sam thought, was that everyone looked out for everyone else. In their building alone there were six families, all with young children. They all took turns baby sitting and watching the kids in the play yard, and on weekends many of the adults organized games for the older kids. With everyone helping out and doing their part, Tok'ona was truly a utopian community. Sam sometimes wondered how big the settlement could become, before the perfect conditions deteriorated, and their community turned into just another town like the ones on Earth.

After picking up Mellie from Sgt. Jameson's, Sam and Janet went to the large one bedroom apartment that she and Mellie had been sharing with Jack for the past seven months. Their relationship had been very close, sexual even, since before Sam had given birth to Mellie, but she had held off moving in with him until after Mellie was born. She wanted to be sure he could accept another man's child as his own, and to do that she had to see him interact with the baby. Thus far Jack was succeeding even more than her wildest hopes and dreams.

Their apartment was at the end of the second story, which afforded them a good view of the settlement. What it didn't afford them was much privacy during intimacy. Now that Malinda was almost one, having her baby bed in their bedroom was becoming a real problem. And though they'd talked about moving, there simply hadn't been the time or the available space.

Janet sat on the living room floor and played with the baby, while Sam made tea at the other side of the big space. It was really just one big room, with a row of cabinets on one side with the stove and refrigerator at the end of them, a dining table in the middle and a large open area with windows on the other side. Then at the back was one large bedroom with an adjoining bathroom.

Sam put two boxes of cereal and a bottle of milk on the table and sat down, letting out a sigh. She just didn't feel like cooking right now...or eating for that matter. Janet looked up at her, concern showing in her big brown eyes.

"Sam, he really is going to be just fine! Don't you believe me?"

"I want to Jan, but... Even if he's okay this time, what will it be next? Every day he's out there doing God only knows what! And he wasn't supposed to be at the construction site without a helmet on! He knows that! Hell, he's always reminding me to wear a helmet, wear my steel-toed boots, wear a coat, take water with me when I go anywhere. And look what he pulls! I just can't believe he did something so stupid!" Sam hadn't meant to get so upset in front of her friend, but suddenly she found herself sobbing, her hands covering her face.

Janet got up from the floor and went to kneel in front of Sam, who immediately put her arms around her friend and hugged her, letting the tears fall freely. After a couple of minutes, Sam let Janet go. By this time the tea kettle was whistling, and Malinda was standing at the table holding onto the table leg with one hand, while patting Sam's thigh with the other.

"Mama, Mama!" the baby shouted. Sam picked her up and sat her on her lap, while Janet went to pour the water into the tea pot.

After a breakfast of cereal, toast and tea, Sam agreed to lay down for a little while. She hadn't been asleep long before memories of the past took over.

She was in her lab...in Martouf's arms, his face pressed to the side of her head as he whispered to her. They had never made love, although he had been pressing her to do so for several weeks. Today she was so mad at Jack, that the thought of doing it just to hurt him had its appeal.

"You know I'm right, Samantha. O'Neill can never truly appreciate who and what you are, but I can and do! We're alike you and I. We even think alike! Today was a perfect example of how O'Neill will treat you once you are married. He acts as though you are his property, not a fine officer worthy of his respect and trust. He had no right to forbid you to go to Tolana with your team. He embarrassed you in front of everyone!"

"He has his reasons, Martouf, and I'm in no position to question them," she said, trying to excuse Jack's behavior. This wasn't the only topic she and Jack had argued about recently, and the constant bickering was really beginning to take its toll on their relationship and on her patience. "I think he just worries about me," she added, as though that made Jack's actions acceptable to her. It did not.

"He worries about losing you. That's not the same thing, Samantha, and you know it. Come with us to Tolana tomorrow," he begged. Then he pulled her closer and kissed her, whispering against her lips, "Come with me now to my quarters and let me show you how much I care about you!"

She had gone and the rest, as they say, was history.

After Sam's nap, she and Janet got Mellie dressed in her coat and hat and headed back to the large, single story, concrete building that was the hospital. It was built in a C shape, with a children's ward at one side, the adult ward at the other, and the labs and surgeries located in the middle. They went through the door on the left and into the adult ward. Jack was in a double room across from the nurses' station, but he was the only patient in the room. Janet went to speak to the resident in charge of his case, while Sam took Malinda into Jack's room. She was glad they didn't have rules about taking children to see the adults, because she knew that Mellie would really miss Jack if she weren't allowed to see him. Once when he'd been gone a week to Washington, DC to speak to the President and the Joint Chiefs, Mellie had fretted and fussed the entire time he was gone.

As you looked down at Jack's peaceful face, she thought about what he had asked her just yesterday. Well, it wasn't really the first time he had asked not to call him 'Uncle Jack' around Mellie. And she really had tried to remember! But ever since Mellie was born, Jack had been Uncle Jack...even though he was the only father Mellie had ever known.

Martouf had been attacked by one of the hoodats, as Jack liked to call them. He had lost a leg, and one arm had to be amputated just above the elbow. But it had not been just the loss of his limbs or the loss of blood that had killed him. His symbiote had been killed as well, and of course there were no spare symbiotes available to cure him. She'd never forget his last lucid words to her, as she held his hand in the rudimentary hospital that had been set up in a large tent.

"I loved you from the first minute I saw you, Samantha. You didn't know that, did you?" he asked in a strained voice. His forehead glistened with beads of perspiration, and Sam dabbed at them with a cloth. She felt so helpless, and it was a feeling she didn't deal with very well. When it came to building a solar powered generator or designing a new computer program, no one was more confident than Sam. But when it came to the human body and illness or injury, she felt completely useless, and she hated the feeling.

"No, I have to admit my mind was on my father at the time. Now you just rest, so you can get well," she said. Actually her mind was on her father a lot these days, and she was trying desperately not to think about what her life would be like if Martouf died and her father continued to be gone on his missions most of the time. The baby she was carrying would never know its father or its grandfather. And although she hated to think of her own needs at a time like this, she was really scared about the prospect of raising a child all alone. Other than her father and her friends at the SGC, the only other person she was close to was Jack. Strike that. She and Jack had been close, but not anymore. Not since four months earlier when he'd walk in on her and Martouf making love.

She'd had no idea how much her life would change in just that one day. Although she and Jack still hadn't talked about what happened, she suspected that she had lost his love and respect. One thing was for certain, she had conceived the child of another man...a man who she believed she could come to love over time, if given the chance. But now her time with Martouf was being cut short, and she wasn't going to get that chance. The doctor had already told her that he wouldn't live out the night. And so she just sat with him and held his hand.

"Sam? Sam, are you alright?" It was Janet's voice that brought Sam out of her reverie, as she sat on a chair next to Jack's hospital bed. Malinda was asleep in her arms.

"I'm fine," she said, trying to sound as though she really were, but Janet knew her too well.

"You're not fine, Sam. But what you are is the Queen of Denial! You're falling asleep sitting there! Give me Mellie, before you drop her."

"No, Janet. I'm fine, really!" The baby was heavy, and her back had been hurting a lot lately, but she hated the idea of Janet coming all this way, and then having to baby sit while she slept.

"Sam, you're obviously exhausted. If I have to go and complain to your obstetrician, I will! Now give me the kid," Janet insisted as she slid her arms around the sleeping baby.

"Okay. But what about you? You shouldn't have to carry her!"

"I'll find a place to put her down for a nap. It's a hospital. I know my way around these places, believe me!" Janet whispered. "Now you get some rest, and stop worrying! I'll see you in a couple of hours."

Sam untied her boots while she watched Janet tuck Malinda's hat and bottle down into the diaper bag. Then Sam padded over to the empty bed and climbed onto it. With one hand Janet grabbed a spare blanket from the bottom of Jack's bed and tossed it to Sam, who spread it over her legs.

Sam hadn't thought she would be able to relax, but the minute her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep. But even though her body was at rest, her mind was not. Visions of events that had occurred following Martouf's death crowded in on her. It was as though she was living that same horrible time all over again!

Just two weeks after Martouf died, she had been awakened by yelling and screaming coming from outside their tent. She sat up on her military issue cot and looked over at her new roommate Marcia, who was also sitting up. Marcia was a biochemist and a civilian. And even though she had worked all over the Earth, and under some pretty harsh conditions like those in the Philippines and in Guatemala, Marcia still got spooked at night.

"Sam, you're not going out there, are you?" she asked in a frightened voice, as she watched Sam slip into her combat-style boots.

"I'll be fine. You just stay here!"

Sam didn't bother putting on anything else; her short pajamas would be enough to keep her warm in the 79 degree night air. Grabbing the Glock 38, semi-automatic handgun that she kept under her pillow at night, Sam ran out of the tent and toward the shouting. She could see someone laying on the ground near the mess hall, and several people were bending over the bloody, moaning man. There were also three armed people standing over the person on the ground, and one of them was General Jack O'Neill.

Sam walked up to him and stood aside, not wanting to get in the way of the medical staff who was looking at the man's injuries. She just stood there trying to remain calm, when in reality her heart was racing. She could see it all in her mind so clearly. This was a repeat of what had happened the night that Martouf had been attacked, and it made Sam's blood run cold as she imagined that it was him laying there on the ground once again, his symbiote Lantash laying next to him, ripped to green, slimy shreds.

Jack gave Sam a look that she couldn't quite read in the semi-darkness, as he spoke into his radio.

"It's Sullivan. His leg's been torn up pretty bad. So the thing could still be looking for a meal. Take two squads and do a sweep of all the buildings. Be sure to check the fence. But don't leave the compound! If we don't get it tonight, I'll go after the thing in the morning when I can see to track it. O'Neill out."

Sam turned over on the hospital bed and moaned in her sleep, but she didn't awaken.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

While Jack lay in a coma in the adjacent hospital bed, Sam was dreaming about events that had happened almost a year and a half earlier, right after Martouf had died.

She had been awakened in the night by screams and had run outside to see what was going on. Finding a group of medical people gathered around the victim, she had stood aside with Jack and watched. Jack told the marine standing next to him to help carry the injured man. Just then the flood lights came on, illuminating the whole compound in a harsh yellow glow. They were used at night only when work needed to be done outside, or in case of any emergency.

A wild animal attacking someone inside the compound certainly fit that description, Sam thought to herself, as chills ran up her spine. Sam knew that Jack had been trying to get an early warning system of sorts set up, but so far the necessary electronic components to create one had not arrived from Earth.

"I told those bastards that a fence was not gonna keep those things out of here," he groused as he watched the group of two female nurses, one male doctor and the marine, moving with the injured man toward the hospital tent.

Jack walked slowly along behind them, and Sam walked with him, hoping that maybe the time had come when she could have a reasonable conversation with him...on common ground, so to speak. Since the incident in her lab that night, she had tried to apologize to him...to explain how she felt...but each time he had ignored her and walked away, or told her he didn't want to hear her excuses. So for a while she had simply stayed away from Jack, letting her assistants go to him whenever she needed to make a special request for her department. She really hoped that by now he was ready to listen to her, because she was to the point where she couldn't live like this any longer.

"Maybe I could jury-rig something for now," she offered. She meant it as a sincere offer, but she also was trying to find something they had in common besides their past relationship...an ice breaker of sorts. "I'm pretty sure I could, Sir."

"Trying to get on my good side, Carter?" he asked with a smirk. Sam studied his profile. She sensed that he was enjoying this. He was getting off on the fact that she was feeling so uncertain...so insecure. He probably wanted her to beg, she thought momentarily. She considered it, but instead she went on the defensive.

"No, Sir!" she said quickly, unwilling to admit that he had figured her out. Then she changed her mind. Damn it, she missed him! And if she had to eat crow to win back his friendship, then she'd do it! "Yes, Sir. Actually I am, Sir."

"I would have thought you'd have stopped sir-ing me a long time ago, Carter."

"And I would have thought you'd have stopped calling me 'Carter' a long time ago, Sir," she replied cheekily. She clamped her mouth shut, wishing she hadn't said it...at least not in that tone of voice.

They stopped at the entrance to the hospital and watched as the group took the injured man inside. There was nothing for her to do now but go on back to bed. She had blown her chance, she figured. But she really didn't want to leave Jack's company just yet. She had been enjoying their chat...even though it hadn't lasted long.

His next words filled her heart with hope, even though she knew that under the circumstances he would have made the same offer to anyone in camp, 'especially a woman' her feminine brain yelled back at her. She pushed that idea to the back of her mind. Her feminist attitude was partially at fault for the troubles they'd had, and she knew it.

"I'll walk you back to your tent," he said, and they began to walk side-by-side, him in his green bdu pants and white undershirt with no shoes or socks, and her in her high-top boots and a pair of pink shorty pj's that had a loose top that hung down over her tummy. At sixteen weeks she wasn't really showing very much yet, but it was no secret that she was pregnant. Her urgent message to Janet via the stargate two months earlier had been like taking out a full-page ad in a newspaper!

"I'm sorry, Jack," she said without an explanation. She meant it for a lot more than just calling him 'sir', but she couldn't bring herself to say it. After all these months, she finally had a chance to apologize to him for breaking his heart, and her pride was keeping her from saying the words! His reply astounded her.

"It's okay, Sam. We both made mistakes," he said, and Sam's heart actually hurt for him. She had made one huge mistake when she'd broken off their engagement. She had turned to another man for understanding and sympathy. She had been to blame for everything that had gone wrong between Jack and herself, and yet here he was trying to take part of the blame. How sweet was that!

"No, Sss...Jack. I made the mistakes, not you. But I never intended to hurt you. You have to believe that!" she begged, reaching out to touch his hand. He didn't pull away, but he also didn't return her touch. And he didn't say anything. He just stared at her with those damned intense eyes of his! So she lowered her hand in disappointment, somewhat embarrassed. They had arrived at her tent, and she was afraid he'd just walk away, and she'd be no closer to saying what really needed to be said. His next remark surprised her once again.

"You look cute in those pajamas," he said as he dragged his eyes from her face, and looked her up and down. "The boots are a nice touch," he added with a chuckle.

"I know I look awful," she laughed, laying a hand on her belly. "But thanks for saying that. You look great, Jack. I think this assignment agrees with you." She meant it; he really did look great! He was as tan and as fit as she'd ever seen him, and she wished she could run her hand over his chest and feel his firm biceps under the short sleeves of his undershirt, but she didn't dare. Suddenly she realized she was becoming aroused, so she dropped her eyes from him and stared at the ground.

Just then the door of her tent opened and Marcia stuck her head out. "God, Sam, I've been waiting for you to come back! Is everyone okay? What happened? Was it one of those things?" she rattled off nervously.

"Sgt. Sullivan almost had his leg taken off by one of those hoodats. I'm going after it in the morning," Jack replied as Sam just stood there feeling disoriented. Being this close to Jack was having quite an effect on her, and she had to force herself to concentrate on what Marcia was saying.

"Going after it? Is that wise, General?" Marcia asked. Sam thought the very same thing, but she didn't say so, for fear of sounding like she had become soft. After all, she and the General and SG-1 had gone after some pretty wicked prey once upon a time.

"I can't just let this thing do as it pleases. They seem to hunt alone, and I'm betting they have territories. If I ignore it, it'll start thinking of this place as its own personal all-you-can-eat buffet. Sorry, Sam," he said, noticing her expression as the image of a dismembered Martouf popped into her head.

"Well, you just be careful then, General, and we'll be back here praying for you," Marcia said cheerfully, and then she ducked back inside. Just then they heard static on the radio and a man's voice.

"O'Neill. What's up?" Jack asked.

"We found nothing inside the perimeter, Sir, except spoor at the place where it came over the fence."

"Okay, you can show me at first light. Come on back and get some sleep. I doubt the thing will be back tonight, but add two more men to the fence detail until daylight. O'Neill out!" He released the button on the radio and shoved the thing into his pants pocket.

"Well, you better go inside now," he said softly. And just then the big flood lights went out. "Sgt. Simmons...always trying to save electricity, unless I miss my guess," he said with a chuckle. They were standing so close that Sam thought she could feel his breath on her face, and it made her shiver.

"Yes, but Sgt. Simmons has the best intentions," she said with a laugh.

Suddenly Jack took her hand in one of his and brought it up to his chest, effectively making her take a step closer to him. Sam held her breath. He was staring at her with eyes that appeared coal black now that the lights were out. They reminded her of black holes, and she could imagine herself being pulled in. Her body was tingling all over, her panties getting wetter by the second. Her desire for him was almost more than she could bear, but still she couldn't be the one to make the first move. She still had some pride left.

"Sometimes good intentions are all we can expect from someone. I had good intentions where you were concerned. I hope you know that, Sam. Good-night," he said, and then he released her hand and walked away.

Sam woke up even before Janet came to wake her. She didn't feel rested at all. In fact the frustration and anger she felt toward herself for all the stupid things she'd done was making her feel even more tired. Would she never be able to forgive herself?

She slowly sat up on the bed and looked at her watch. She had been asleep for only fifty-five minutes, but it had seemed much longer, and the content of her dream had worn her out. So much for getting some rest, she thought as she got off the bed to retrieve her boots.

Thinking she'd go find Janet and her daughter, Sam put on her boots and tied them. As she passed Jack's bed she thought she heard him say her name. Startled, Sam rushed over to stand next to him. She took his hand and spoke to him, but he didn't stir and his heart rate remained the same. After a couple of minutes she decided she must have been imagining it, so she left to find her friend and her baby girl.

Still in a coma Jack was dreaming about the events that had led up to this day, and some of his thoughts were quite pleasant. ...like the first time he and Sam had made love after Martouf died. ...if you could call it 'making love'.

"Hey, Carter, what 'cha doin?" Jack asked in a friendly manner.

He realized he hadn't greeted her like that for a long while, and it felt great to be on good terms with her again. Since the night that Sullivan had been mauled, they had gotten closer. When he'd gone out hunting that thing the following day and had come back bloody and tired, Sam had been there to greet him. In fact she had run out to meet him as he came limping up to the gates. She had obviously assumed from all the blood on his clothing that he'd been injured, but he had only twisted his knee. The blood belonged to the animal he had killed, and he had some teeth and claws to prove it. And after he'd cleaned up and told her all about the hunt, they'd had a nice dinner together in his tent.

Their friendship had been on the mend from that day, and mostly Jack was glad. But he was also cautious. Had they learned anything from their previous mistakes, or would they make them all over again?

"I'm just finishing up the plans for a more efficient wind turbine...one we can ship in fewer parts through the gate. That way it won't take so long to get them set up, and soon we'll be able to generate enough electricity to power the whole camp!" she cried enthusiastically.

"We can even electrify the fence, Sir!" she shouted happily, standing up from the stool where she'd been sitting for the past two hours. Her back was obviously hurting, and so she reached around and tried to rub it.

"Now that is really good news!" he said, and then he hugged her, his hands massaging her back in a familiar way. As he rubbed her back, his arms pulled her body flush with his and he bent down and kissed her on the lips. It was just a short kiss, but he felt Sam respond, and his heart soared. He didn't want to feel so strongly about her, but he simply couldn't help himself. Nothing either of them had done had changed anything for him; he still loved her, damn it! Jack wondered if she still loved him...even a little bit.

"Wow! Do I get a reward like that every time I come up with a new idea?" She seemed to be flirting with him.

"I guess," he said indecisively. Part of him wanted to believe that she really cared about him...that she regretted the mistakes she'd made. ...that she'd forgiven him for how he had treated her. He had been insecure, and insecurities had led him to treat her with distrust. And then of course there had been his Alpha brain that demanded he treat her like his trophy female, instead of the capable officer she was. He had a strong desire to protect her...even from herself, and he had acted on it...too many times.

"Is that what you want, Sam? A kiss every time you triumph? More?" his libido made him add.

"Yes, if you'd be willing. Jack, you have no idea how much I've missed you!"

Those were words he really needed to hear, and although part of him warned that possibly she wanted him only when it was convenient for her, a bigger part of him didn't really care. Her words instantly turned his fledgling arousal into a burning need...one he'd been living with for way too long. He'd been totally celibate since their break up, and his need for a woman...particularly this woman...was slowly driving him crazy. Without stopping to think, Jack went over and locked the lab door.

"What are you doing, Jack?" Sam asked nervously, following him with her eyes. He strutted back over to the work table and shoved her laptop and a few other things to one side. Sam gasped as though she were going to protest, but she said nothing. Then he pushed the stool she had been sitting on aside with his foot and grabbed her by one arm, turning her around to face the table. He pulled her back against him possessively, his hands cupping her breasts, his mouth next to her right ear.

"I'm gonna do something I've been needing to do for a long time, Sam. I'm gonna fuck hell outa you," he growled roughly, as his teeth scraped the side of her neck. He felt Sam's entire body shiver, but she didn't protest. His hands slipped under her loose top and to the waistband of her trousers, where he easily unfastened the button and lowered the zipper.

As an angry voice in his head yelled at him to hurt her...to fuck her till she bled, Jack jerked her pants and underwear down around her knees. Then he knelt down behind her, Sam clinging to the edge of the table with both hands, as he removed her boots. Soon she was naked from the waist down and bending over the table on her elbows, as Jack fingered her pussy from behind, his other hand clutching the back of her neck. She moaned loudly, her sex wet and ready for him. But even if she hadn't been wet, he had been determined to take her quick...and take her hard. And so he aimed his cock into her hot center, filling her up to his balls on the first attempt.

Sam cried out. And as he pulled out and slammed back into her again, she screamed again. Familiar with the sounds she made when making love, he could tell she was enjoying this, and so he continued to plunder her willing body. Her pussy was gripping him so tightly that he thought it'd kill him, but it also felt damned good. Soon he was thrusting in and out of her snug channel like the piston of a car, building up the pressure inside both of them. He knew he was almost ready to blow, and right now satisfying himself was all he cared about.

Sam had moved her hands to the front edge of the table, where she was holding on tightly, her knuckles white. Jack pushed his hands between her body and the table until his fingers were splayed over her round breasts, their pliant flesh overflowing his large hands. He squeezed them...pinching the nipples hard between his fingers...and heard her deep throaty moan. Even in his current state of mind, it occurred to him that Sam's breasts were much larger than he remembered. And then like a gun shot ringing out inside his head, Jack suddenly recalled why her breasts were larger. She was pregnant, and he was being about as rough with her as he could remember! Fuck!

Jack backed out of her and quickly pulled her up from the table, still holding her in his arms. She turned around in his embrace to look at him, as he began to rant. "Oh my God Sam, I'm sorry! Are you okay? I didn't hurt the baby, did I?" he asked, staring at her shocked face.

"Jack, intercourse won't hurt the baby," she said with a small smile.

"I know that. I just thought... Well, the way I had you down on the table on your belly... I wasn't being very gentle. I'm sorry; I wasn't thinking!"

"It's okay, really! I would have told you if you were hurting me or the baby. Now come on. I know you want to," she said, her voice soft and gentle.

For a beat he wondered how she would feel about letting him do this, if she knew what he'd been thinking...that he wanted to hurt her for what she'd done to him. He felt ashamed, and so he said nothing. She turned around and bent over, and Jack plunged into her once more. But this time he kept his hand under her belly, cushioning it as he pushed her forward onto the table. He knew then that he could never hate this child for what had happened between them or because of who its father was.

It hadn't been long before he came, the need to mark her as his own just too great to be denied. That was the moment when he decided he would never let anyone come between him and Sam ever again. The time they had wasted could never be gotten back, but they could still have many more years together, and he intended to see to it that they did!

When Jack climaxed in his dream, his eyelids fluttered and he moaned. A nurse who was checking his vitals decided to go and tell his doctor that there were indications that the General might be waking up.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

Janet and Sam were just on their way back to Jack's room when they heard Sam's name being paged. Picking up the pace, they practically jogged the rest of the way back, Mellie lolling in Sam's arms, while Janet carried the diaper bag. When they got to the nurse's station, Jack's doctor, Col. Dave Russell was waiting for them.

"Major Carter, Major Frasier, I have some good news for you both! I think the General is about to wake up. I knew you'd want to be here when he does, and that's why I called you," Dr. Russell said, looking directly at Sam.

"Thank you, Doctor!"

"Sam, give me the baby. I'll hold her," Janet offered as Sam stood next to Jack's bed. And since she really wanted to have her hands free to touch Jack just now, she agreed and handed the sleeping baby off to her friend. Janet went and sat down in the chair by the wall, rocking Mellie in her arms. Sam stepped closer to the bed and put one hand affectionately on Jack's brow. He was warm, but not too warm. Then she grasped his right hand in her left and almost immediately felt him squeeze her fingers.

"Jack! Jack, it's me! Wake up, sweetheart," she said softly as she bent over him, watching as his eyelids twitched. Then she felt more pressure on her hand, and saw his eyelids flicker and open. "Hey! There you are!" She stared at his deep brown eyes as they looked around for a few seconds, finally focusing on her face. And then he smiled at her, and Sam nearly fainted with relief.

"God, you're beautiful," he said gruffly.

"And you're obviously suffering from a bump on the head," she said with a chuckle. She got the small cup and straw from the table by the bed and offered him a drink. While he was taking a few sips of water through the straw, Dr. Russell walked into the room.

"Well! I see you've decided to come back to us, General!" the doctor greeted him warmly. The doctor was new here, but so far people seemed to like his bedside manner.

"How long was I out?"

"Can't say for certain, but you've been here for about fifteen hours. How are you feeling?" he asked as he shined a penlight into Jack's eyes.

"Fine! Or at least I was until you shined that damned light in my eyes!" he complained. Janet laughed openly and Sam just smiled. That comment certainly sounded like the old Jack was back!

"Sorry, Doctor, but the General is sometimes not a very good patient," Sam commented.

"I can vouch for that," Janet added as she came and stood next to Sam. Dr. Russell just smiled and wrote something down on Jack's chart.

"So, when can I go home?" Jack asked, and Sam rolled her eyes. There was another thing that told her he wasn't feeling very bad; he hated staying in the hospital!

"Not for at least twenty-four hours, Sir. Your body needs rest after your ordeal. I'll re-evaluate your progress tomorrow morning." Jack clamped his mouth shut in a grim line. Then the doctor nodded and smiled at all of them and left the room.

"Hey, Janet! What brought you all this way?" Jack asked his ex-CMO as she stepped closer to the bed.

"You did, General. I wanted to see how your head is holding up. I can see it's as hard as ever," Janet joked, giving Jack a big smile.

"You know you always had a weak spot for me. Admit it, Frasier," Jack said, winking at her. Mellie was awake now, and decided to get involved in the conversation. She saw Jack and reached out for him, lunging in his direction. Janet had to hold on tight to keep the child from literally jumping out of her arms.

"Da Da!" the baby yelled loudly. Everyone smiled and laughed, especially Jack.

"Well, I guess I don't have to worry about her calling me 'Uncle Jack' anymore," he said, looking at Sam. Sam clapped a hand over her mouth as she burst into tears. "Hey, honey, I didn't mean to make you cry," Jack said softly as he reached out and squeezed her hand.

"No...you didn't...make me cry. It's just...," she choked out between sobs and sniffs.

Janet decided this was a good time to leave her two friends alone. "I'm gonna take Mellie on home. I'll see you back there soon, Sam," Janet said, giving Sam a meaningful look. Sam knew that Janet wanted her to go home and sleep in her own bed tonight, instead of hanging out here at the hospital.

"I promise I'll be home by three. And I'll make fettuccine al fredo with chicken and broccoli," Sam promised, knowing the dish was Janet's favorite.

"Wow! I can't wait! Bye, General! I'll check on you in the morning before I leave for Earth," Janet told him. Then she held Mellie low enough for Jack to give her a kiss on her plump, pink cheek.

"Da Da!" she shouted, her plump little hands clapping together.

"Daddy loves you. Bye bye, sweety pie!" Jack responded as he waved at her.

Mellie held up both hands, opening them and closing them, doing her best imitation of a wave as Janet carried her out the door. Sam and Jack heard the baby begin to cry when she was no longer able to see them, and they gave each other a knowing look. They knew she'd be just fine, once she became distracted by something else.

"I'd sure rather have your fettuccine than the stuff they serve in here," Jack said conspiratorially in a low voice. She knew he really wanted to go home, and she had been a little surprised that he hadn't reacted badly when Dr. Russell had said he had to stay in the hospital another twenty-four hours.

"I guess I could bring you some later," she offered. Sam dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, thinking that she was beginning to feel like a basket case. She didn't remember being so emotional when she was carrying Mellie, but this time she was crying at the drop of a hat. And the thought of sleeping without Jack in her bed again tonight was about to bring her to tears all over again!

"I'd really like that, Sam," he said. "Now I think I'll take a little nap," he said groggily. "Oh, and thanks for teaching Mellie to call me 'Dad'.

"But I didn't! I was just as surprised as you, believe me!" In fact, Mellie had surprised her so much that she had burst into tears. 'It was just so damned touching,' she thought with a sniff. She wished Jack iwas/i Mellie's biological father, but he wasn't, and she knew there was nothing she could do about it.

"She kinda got to me too, Sam," he said, his eyes misty. She kissed his lips and murmured 'sweet dreams', and then his eyes closed and he was back in la-la land.

He was back in the past once again, and he and Sam were arguing, as was often the case early on in their relationship. They had been on Egeria for just a few weeks, and many things about the planet were still unknown to them. Winter had set in with a vengeance they hadn't expected. And when four scientists became lost in a blizzard, a team was needed to go out and find them. Feeling responsible for them, Sam had volunteered, or rather she had taken it upon herself to form a rescue team. They had been about to leave, when Jack discovered her intentions and called her and the men into his office.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Major? The last time I checked, I was still in charge around here!" he shouted at her.

"Then take charge and order us to go! We're all ready, so why are you hesitating?" she asked, her jaw set. He felt like slapping her, as they stood there in front of the two marines and one airman that she had gotten to accompany her on the rescue mission.

He had been justifiably upset, but she didn't see it that way. She thought he was being over-protective, while he thought she was being insubordinate and willful. He thought she should stay at her job in the lab where she was more valuable, while she thought he was using that as an excuse to keep her under his thumb. In the end he had sent out another team of his own making, and Sam had slammed out of his office and back to her lab, trudging through the knee-deep snow drifts as though the devil himself were following her. Jack had watched her until he could no longer see her through the swirling snow. Had he been over-protective of her? "Guilty as charged," he said aloud to himself.

The next day Jack was released from the hospital, but the doctor insisted he stay at home and rest for another week. Sam thought she'd have to tie him to the bed to keep him quiet, but to her surprise he didn't put up a fuss. He even let her take the baby to their neighbors, instead of watching her himself, which he sometimes did. When she got home from work at the end of his third day at home, and Jack was still not complaining, Sam really began to worry about him. She became even more concerned when he told her that he had spent the entire day at home reading. That just wasn't like Jack!

He had dinner waiting on the table when she got home from work. So she put Mellie in her high chair and quickly washed her hands before sitting down.

"It looks good, Jack. But you didn't have to cook. I could have fixed something," she said as she studied his face.

He seemed to be in a really mellow mood, and she certainly didn't want to spoil it. But she really needed to talk to him about the wedding. She wanted to postpone it until her father could come. But she was almost afraid to mention Jacob to him, since they really didn't get along. The last time they'd seen her father had been at Martouf's funeral, although she had spoken to him by radio a few times since then. At the funeral Jacob had gone on and on about what a good husband Martouf would have been for her. And of course she knew he was inferring that Jack was totally wrong for her.

And since Martouf's death, nothing much had changed; Jacob was still trying to get her away from Jack. The last word she'd had from her father was that he might be able to attend the wedding, if it was in the fall. That would mean postponing it for three months. Sam didn't think Jack would be very happy about that, but she really wanted her father there, and so she decided to talk to Jack about it.

Sam looked up as Jack put a plate down in front of her, realizing she'd been day dreaming.

"I like to cook. You know that. Now dig in. Our kid needs nourishment," he said, pushing her salad plate closer to her. "You don't eat enough to keep a sparrow alive."

"I do to! Just wait till I look like a beached whale. Then you'll wish I had watched my diet, mister!"

"You'll never look like a beached whale, Sam. You forget; I saw you when you were carrying Mellie. You looked great the entire time," he said as he chewed his food. He had this adorable way of chewing slowly and thoughtfully, as though he was learning the food, not just eating it.

"You really mean that?"

"I do! You make pretty fabulous kids too! So I've decided we should have five or six more."

"Oh, you have, have you? And who's gonna take care of all those kids, Jack? I think eight kids might be asking too much of our friends, don't you?" They currently had plenty of friends and co-workers willing to baby sit, but no one could be expected to take care of a brood, Sam thought shaking her head in consternation.

"That's why I've decided to retire," Jack stated as a matter of fact. He watched as Sam's head shot up.

"You've what?!" Sam couldn't believe her ears. Had he just said he was going to retire?

"I've decided to retire, Sam. When Hammond comes for the wedding, I'm handing him my resignation. Wheeler is due for his own command. He's ready," Jack said, as though that one fact should be enough of a reason.

"So Wheeler's ready for his own command...so what? That doesn't mean he's right for the job of leading these people, Jack! It also doesn't mean that you should give up a job you love! You bdo/b still love it, don't you? I mean I know there have been some difficult times, but we've overcome so much! And the people look up to you! You're a born leader, Jack. You can't quit now, when we've only just begun! There's still so much to do here!"

"There is a lot to do here, but I'm tired, Sam. I'm older than you, and I've paid my dues. I want to enjoy my retirement. I want to enjoy my kids, before I'm too old to get around. Besides, it's not like I'll be bored. I really ido/i want us to have more kids, Sam. One, two, three more. I don't know how many. You want that too, don't you?"

"I don't know, Jack! I haven't even had number two yet, and you're already planning a hockey team! I've got things I want to do too, you know, and I'm not sure I would have time to give to all those kids. I'm not saying I might not want more children. It's just that... Jack, I think we need to take things a little slower. I didn't even have time to plan for this baby, and you're already planning for several more. Could we just take it a little slower? Please?"

Jack's chair shot back and collided with the wall as he got up. His eyes looked as black as night, as he aimed them at her where she sat.

"You wanna take it slower? Sure! We can take it slower. Maybe you wanna put off the wedding. I mean after all, your dad can't make it until fall anyway," he spit, as he walked over to the living room. He stood looking out the window with his back to her.

"How did you know that, Jack?" she asked him, shocked that he already knew.

"I spoke to him today. He called. He really wanted to speak to you, but I guess you were in the test bunker. When they couldn't reach you, they put the call through here to me. Jacob seemed to take pleasure in telling me that you two had discussed postponing our wedding on account of him."

"I'm sorry, Jack. I was going to tell you. It's just that I know how much you dislike my father, and..." Jack's words interrupted her, his voice rising harshly.

"Oh, yah, blame everything one me! He disliked me way before I disliked him!" he yelled. Sam got up and walked toward him, her throat feeling constricted and her stomach clinching. She hated arguing with him; she always had.

"Jack, I'm not blaming you for anything. I know my father has never really given you a chance, but you've got to be willing to meet him half way."

"Fine! How about this; if he'll promise to stay the hell out of our lives, I'll promise not to retire! In fact, you obviously don't like the idea of me being here waiting for you each day, so maybe I'll put in for an assignment back on Earth!" he yelled, and then he grabbed his coat from the hook by the door and left, slamming the door shut behind him.

Sam clapped a hand over her mouth and just stood there staring at the door.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

After the argument about Jacob, Sam just didn't know what to say to Jack to make things better. She had tried reasoning with him, and each time he came back with accusations about how she always did exactly what her father wanted her to do. Sam knew that in many ways Jack was right; she had always done as her father wanted. A part of her considered contacting her father and telling him they couldn't wait...that the wedding had to go on as scheduled. But she just couldn't bring herself to do it, especially when she knew how much it meant to him to walk 'his little girl' down the aisle.

And so she had postponed the wedding...or more like canceled it for now. She wasn't so little anymore, but lately she wished that she was, so she could crawl up on her father's lap and be protected from all the hurt and anger that Jack was sending her way. She almost dreaded coming home from work at night. And on one particular night things got even worse, even though on this night she and Jack didn't argue.

When Sam arrived home, she had been surprised to find Mellie still at 's apartment down on the first floor. Dorothy Watson was the widowed mother of one of the marines, and as his only next of kin she had been allowed to move to Egeria with her son. The gray-haired woman waved at Sam through the window and opened the door as Sam came walking by.

"Here's your momma," she said cheerfully, holding Malinda in her arms. Mellie reached out to Sam, and Sam took the child, wondering why Jack hadn't picked her up. His office door had been locked when she stopped by there on the way home, so she figured he would be home by now. And if he was the first one here, he always got Malinda from the sitter. So where was he?

"Thanks, Mrs. Watson! We'll see you next Wednesday!" Sam said as she waved good-bye. Mellie was nodding off, and she felt like a sack of potatoes as Sam carried her up the stairs. 'One thing this building could use,' she thought, 'is an elevator for pregnant women carrying two kids.' They absolutely had to move to a larger, ground floor apartment before the new baby came! 'Maybe I'll talk to Jack about it again tonight...if he's in a good mood,' she thought cautiously.

After putting the baby in her crib, Sam sat down on the bed to change from her boots to her house shoes, and that's when she saw the large white envelope on her pillow. A feeling of dread came over her as she reached out and picked it up. She knew it was from Jack, and she knew he wouldn't be leaving her a note like this, unless he couldn't face her. She opened the unsealed envelope and removed the single piece of white paper. With trembling hands she unfolded it and began reading the note written in Jack's casual scrawl.

_Dear Sam,_

_By the time you read this I will be on my way to Washington, DC. I have business with the President and the Joint Chiefs, but I also need some time to get my anger under control. I know I've said and done things that have hurt you, and I'm very sorry for that. _

_I love you and our babies more than you will ever know. I will be back in a couple of weeks, and I hope when I get back we can work things out. Until then know that you will be in my thoughts constantly._

_With all my love,_

_Jack _

Sam sat there and wept for a long time. Finally she dried her eyes and looked around. She needed to fix some dinner, before Mellie woke up. So even though she didn't feel like eating, Sam went into the kitchen and prepared the dinner she had intended for her and Jack. Crying as she ate was not helping her digestion, and so after just a few bites, she dumped the remainder from her plate into the garbage. Then she shoved the saucepan containing the leftovers into the refrigerator, changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed, pulling the covers up over her head. The next morning she called her assistant and said she wouldn't be coming into work the rest of the week because she was sick.

Jack had decided to bunk with an old friend while he was in DC. Major Charles Kawalsky had been under Jack's command in Nam, and later in the Gulf War. Charlie had also been part of the SGC team that had gone on the first mission through the stargate about six years earlier. Jack thought the scruffy little airman was like a fish out of water here in DC, but he seemed happy with his newest assignment. Tonight they'd decided to have dinner at one of Charlie's favorite restaurants, and Jack had promised to pay.

"Man, you don't have to buy. Just because I don't make a general's pay doesn't mean I'm poor, ya know."

"I know that, Charlie, but I owe you for putting up with my sorry ass for two weeks," Jack said around bites of steak and shrimp. Kawalsky always did know where to find the best food, Jack thought as he inhaled the delicious aromas that bombarded his senses. Jack also figured that the lack of variety on Egeria was another reason that the food on Earth seemed so appetizing.

"Ah, that's okay. I know you'd do the same for me, Jack. Hey, listen, I've been wonderin about somethin. What's with your story, Jack? I know those meetings were only scheduled for one week. Why aren't you headin back to Eger...er..home on Friday?" He had quickly corrected his slip, just in case anyone was listening; gate travel was still a subject that the general public knew nothing about. "I thought you were gonna get married, and then the wedding was canceled. And now you're hangin around here lookin like somebody ran over your dog, when you could go home. Wanna tell me what's goin on?"

"Not really."

"Okay, then let me make a guess. Sam finally wised up and realized you're not good enough for her," he said with a chuckle. He didn't know Sam Carter all that well, but he knew her reputation. She was said to be a sort of female Einstein...the Air Force's wunderkind...and everyone knew she was gorgeous too. How in the hell his friend had gotten so lucky was something that even he couldn't understand, and he knew Jack O'Neill probably as well as anyone.

"I guess you figured it out," Jack said, downing the dregs of his beer. He held up a hand and motioned to the waiter to bring him another.

"Ah, come on, Jack. You know I didn't mean that. I really would like to know what's goin on," he begged, studying his friend's face. He had seen Jack through some pretty rough times, like when his mother had died while they were in Kuwait, and when Jack's son had shot himself before their first trip through the stargate. He knew that this guy kept a lot inside...that he suffered silently when he really should open up and talk about stuff...just like he was doing now.

"Let's just say that Sam is already married." Charlie's eyebrows popped up at that remark. "Her father...Jacob Carter runs her life...always has, and I'm afraid he always will."

"I've heard about General Carter. But I thought he died or something," Charlie said.

"I wish! Ah, hell, I don't really mean that. Let's just say that he's still around, and he and I don't see eye to eye...on anything, but especially his daughter."

"And she won't take sides?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, she's taken a side alright. His!"

"So what are you gonna do? Sam's got a bun in the oven that's yours, don't she?"

"Yah, it's mine, and I intend to be there for the kids."

Charlie's eyebrows shot up again. "Kids?"

"Yah, Sam's got another kid. A girl named Mellie. She's a peach, Charlie! You should see her! She looks like her mom, and she's smart as a whip!" Jack enthused, his eyes shining with pride.

"Well, I can tell you really care about her. I hope Sam appreciates that you're willing to raise another man's baby," he said honestly. "I'm not sure how I would feel about it, if I were in your shoes."

"And you'll probably never have to worry about being in my shoes, since you never date the same girl for more than a week!" Jack laughed.

He had already met Charlie's latest love interest, a young woman named Tiffany who worked in Arlington as a hair stylist. She was nice but definitely not his type, Jack thought as he recalled the petite, blue-eyed blonde with the big tits. Their conversation of the previous evening had told Jack all he needed to know about her; the term 'blonde bimbo' fit her better than anyone he had ever met.

"Hey, that's not true! I went with the Sandra for almost a month!"

"And what, pray tell, made you decide to bail out that time?"

"I was in love with her mother's cooking, not with Sandra!" They both cracked up and laughed till they had tears in their eyes.

"And this current one...Tiffany... How serious are you?" Jack asked as he emptied his beer bottle.

"Don't know, Jack. But I'm hoping she could be the one!"

"No kidding? You finally ready to settle down?" Charlie, at forty-eight years of age, was nine months older than Jack.

"Yep! I think it's time I did, Jack. I'll be retiring in a couple of years, and I'll need someone to take care of me in my old age."

"Christ Charlie! You make it sound like you're ready for the retirement home! And don't let Tiffany hear you say that you're looking for someone to take care of you," Jack advised his friend.

Charlie nodded. "I'm not stupid, you know. So what do you think will happen with you and Sam?"

"I'm not sure. I love her more than anything. But unless she's willing to choose me over her father, I don't see how we can make it work," Jack said sorrowfully.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

After dinner Charlie and Jack had gone to pick up Tiffany from her job at the styling salon. The two invited Jack to go out with them for drinks, but he declined figuring they'd really rather be alone. So they dropped him off at Charlie's place and went on their way.

Jack spent a couple of hours watching a hockey game on Kawalsky's big screen tv, and then he went to bed. And even though his mind was still in a turmoil over his problems with Sam and her father, he fell asleep almost immediately. That night Jack dreamed about Sam and the day she told him she was pregnant with his baby.

They had taken a long walk up the path to the top of a nearby mountain, where there was a nice, secluded spot where they could be alone, and where they could look down on the compound. They had been there several times before. Jack had carried a back pack filled with some of their favorite foods...at least the ones they had available on Egeria. And Sam had carried a blanket.

The sun had been warm on their backs as they climbed the somewhat steep path, and Jack had taken off his shirt and tied it around his waist. He had on a pair of cargo shorts with big pockets on the legs and his high-topped, regulation boots, and Sam had worn a pair of short shorts that showed off her long legs, and a tiny tank top...the kind that always made him want to jump her.

Looking at her ass in those shorts and the crests of her tits in that low-cut top, he thought they'd be lucky to make it to the little glen where they intended to picnic. He might just have to ravage her right where she stood!

"Hurry up, Sam, or I'm gonna fuck you right here," he said under his breath as they climbed the last little stretch of path. They had been up here three times in the past ten days, and each time they had fucked like bunnies. If they didn't do the same thing this time, Jack knew it wouldn't be because he didn't try! After all, he had his reputation to maintain!

"Jack, anyone would think your only interest in me was sex," Sam said in a serious tone. He knew she was pulling his leg, and so he slapped her on the ass as she strode up the path ahead of him.

"Hey! Stop that or no nookie!"

"No nookie...no food! I've got the back pack, remember?" he warned.

"Okay maybe a little nookie, but only because I'm starving," she replied with seeming disinterest in anything but the food.

"You're starving a lot lately," he remarked. And that was when she told him. She didn't wait until they had reached their goal. Nope! She told him right then and there.

"I tend to eat more when I'm pregnant," she said vaguely. It had taken Jack a beat or two for her statement to sink in.

"When you're pregnant! Are you saying you're pregnant?" he sputtered. Sam stopped and turned around just as they reached the point where the path divided. The left side lead to their little rendezvous point, and the right side to the peak.

"Yes, I am, Jack." Jack guessed that his face had shown how shocked he was, because Sam had looked kind of worried. "It's okay with you, isn't it? I mean I know we didn't plan it, but..."

Jack dropped the pack onto the ground and grabbed her around the middle, picking her up and swinging her around until he almost lost his balance. When he set her down on her feet, his mouth covered hers in a passionate kiss.

"So, you're okay with it? You don't mind?" Sam asked when they broke off the kiss.

"Mind! No, of course I don't mind! I just never thought... I mean... Wow!"

Malinda was only ten months old, and for some reason it just never occurred to him to play it safe. They hadn't used condoms, but for all Jack knew Sam was on some kind of birth control. Now he knew she wasn't, but he really didn't mind. Hell no, he didn't mind! In fact he was thrilled!

Jack almost dragged her the rest of the way to the clearing, and once there he hurried to spread out the blanket so they could make love. Faster than you can say 'Jack Sprat' he had their clothes off and he was laying cradled between her thighs, the blazing sun shining down on them adding to the fire he already felt in his loins. Treating her like a delicate porcelain vase, he penetrated her. Then he began to glide in and out, very slowly.

He was always a little overwhelmed by those first sensations of being inside her...totally surrounded by her. Each time was just like the first time, her passage narrow and her muscles unyielding in their efforts to hold him inside her. He loved her tits too, the little pink nubbins jutting out invitingly toward his mouth. He was currently sucking on one of them, the pink nipple firming inside his mouth, telling him that Sam was becoming more and more aroused.

"Jack, remember I'm just pregnant. I'm not made of glass!" she teased. "Remember the time you fucked me in my lab...when I was pregnant with Mellie?" she asked him. "You weren't so careful that time."

And since Jack really loved hearing her talk dirty, he asked, "When was that?"

"The day you came up behind me in my lab and attacked me. Before I knew what was happening, you had pulled my pants down around my knees."

"I did? And what did I do then?" he asked as he rotated his hips and adjusted himself inside her, before pulling out and thrusting back in much harder. He picked up the pace and soon beads of perspiration were breaking out on his forehead and up his back. He could feel the excitement of his arousal coiling expectantly in his belly. His skin wasn't the only thing that was hot; his balls felt like someone had jammed a lit match inside them!

"You bent me over my work table and fucked the hell outta me, that's what you did! My pussy was sore for a week!" she admitted, and Jack groaned at her choice of words. But her words weren't the only things that were fueling his fire; as usual he was amazed at how tight she was and how she was able to use her muscles to caress and massage his cock.

"You were sore? Where exactly?" he asked, swiveling his hips as he pushed back inside her velvet passage. He could feel the head of his cock hitting her cervix on each thrust, and the sensation almost sent him over the edge. But he forced himself to hold off. He wanted her to come too. Just a little longer, he thought as he heard her voice rise in pitch as she described their earlier encounter. He could tell that talking about doing it was turning her on as much as it was him.

"My muscles were sore, Jack. And my clit too! Remember how you pressed me down on the table while you fucked me? My clit was rubbing on the edge of the table. It felt fantastic, and I came so hard!"

"You mean like this," he hissed, as he reached down between them and found her sensitive little peak, rubbing it around and around with the pad of his middle finger. It didn't take long before she began to literally vibrate inside, her vaginal walls shuddering around him as she reached her climax.

"Oh Jack! Yes, yes, yes, aaaaaaahhhh!" she yelled as she reached her pinnacle, her pussy squeezing his shaft from the base to the tip in rhythmic, undulating pulses.

Jack couldn't wait another second longer. He had to come now or implode! He released her shoulders and lifted her hips in his big hands as he rocked back on his heels, elevating her and pulling her toward him at the same time. Sam was still in the throes of her climax as she stretched out her arms and reached for his biceps. She hung on tight, her legs wrapped around his hips as he pounded into her with all his might. They rode out their orgasms together and then fell into each other's arms.

Afterward they just lay there together for a long time, enjoying the serenity of their special place.

Jack woke up the next morning feeling even more frustrated than when he'd left Egeria earlier that week. He missed Sam and Mellie something awful, and he knew that staying away from them was not going to settle anything. He was just finishing getting dressed when Charlie tapped on the guest room door and stuck his head inside. It was only 05:30, but Charlie, who was an early bird like Jack, looked very chipper.

"So, Jack, if you're really gonna stay on Earth another week, how about we take Tiffany up to that cabin of yours and do some fishing? Can you believe she's never stayed in a cabin before?"

"Actually I can. And I gotta admit that sounds like a great idea!" he said honestly, although he wasn't certain that Tiffany would agree. Jack could just imagine her reaction when she broke a nail or ran out of hair spray.

"Great! Boy is Tiff gonna be surprised! I've been promising to take her someplace she's never been. This is perfect! I'll call her right now!"

When Charlie was finished talking to Tiffany, he was beaming. "It's all set! Tiff's coming over later today. She'll spend the night so we can all leave from here!"

He dialed the airlines and made reservations for three from DC to Duluth for early in the afternoon on Sunday, and then he got up off the sofa and grinned at Jack. "This is gonna be fun, man! What say we go out and get some breakfast? I'm starving!"

Jack agreed, and they walked to a nearby restaurant. While they were eating, Charlie remembered something. "Oh, shit! I almost forgot I promised Billy that I'd take him to his basketball game tomorrow!"

"Who's Billy?" Jack asked. Kawalsky didn't' have any kids...at least as far as Jack knew.

"He's my 'little brother', as in I'm his mentor. The Big Brothers organization hooked us up about two months ago. He really depends on me, and I wouldn't want to let him down. The games at 11:00. I'll go to the game, and then I'll meet you guys at the airport."

"Sounds good to me!"

It wasn't what he'd planned to do his second week on Earth. Hell, truth be told he really didn't have any idea what he'd planned to do! So maybe this was a good thing, Jack decided. After all the cabin had always been a place where he could think straight and put things into proper perspective. Maybe spending time there would clear his mind and help him see what he should do about this situation with Sam.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight

The six days that Jack had been gone had passed with tortured slowness for Sam. They had been so close for the past year and a half...more like a married couple than not. And to have him just leave like that, without telling her his plans, had been quite a blow. At first she had been hurt and angry, but now she just wanted him to come back. She knew that nothing had really been settled between the two of them. And how could it be settled, if he went off by himself like this? she reasoned. But she also knew that Jack preferred to run away rather than confront his problems, so maybe this shouldn't have been so surprising after all, she finally decided.

Sam had sent out e-mails and made a few radio calls to people, telling them the wedding had been postponed for reasons beyond their control. Sam had decided to let them think that work was keeping them from saying their vows, when it was actually a misunderstanding between her and Jack that was keeping them apart. She hadn't been too surprised when her father had responded almost immediately to her message, saying he was glad she had finally come to her senses. She read the printed message from the radio room and then balled it up and threw it across their living room floor.

"Damn him! I didn't say I had changed my mind about marrying Jack!" she said aloud. Mellie, who was sitting in her high chair spreading her food around on the tray with two chubby hands, answered her mother's remark with a yell.

"Da Da!" Sam looked at the child and nodded her head.

"Yes, Da Da is who we want, isn't it? And you know what? Mommy is going to go get him and bring him home!" she yelled back. Mellie responded by screeching at the top of her lungs as though she understood her mother's words.

By Saturday morning Sam had cleared her schedule for the following Monday through Friday, and she had arranged for their neighbors to take care of Malinda for five days. Sam really hated to leave her, but she knew she'd be safe here, and Sam also felt that she and Jack really needed some time alone together to work out their problems. He might think he needed to be all alone, but Sam definitely disagreed with him. She just hoped he'd be willing to talk when she showed up unannounced at his hotel in DC.

The flight from Denver to DC took a lot longer than gating from Egeria to Earth, a fact that Sam would always find incredibly annoying. When she arrived at the hotel where Jack usually stayed, he was not registered. Racking her brain to come up with where else he might stay, Sam came up empty. Hoping that he might be able to help, Sam called the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, whom she had met recently when he'd toured Tok'ona. The man seemed genuinely pleased to hear from her, and fortunately he knew where Jack was staying!

After taking a room at the hotel and depositing her suitcase in it, Sam took a taxi to Major Charles Kawalsky's apartment. When she got there she found that the door to the building was locked. Sam found Charlie's name in the list of tenants and pressed the button next to it. No one answered, so she pressed it again. Then she tried another button, hoping someone would let her inside. After two more tries, she heard the door lock disengage. Sam went inside the building and was greeted by an older woman holding a gray cat in her arms.

"Hello, I'm looking for Major Kawalsky and his friend...another man who's staying with him," Sam said. The woman looked her up and down suspiciously. Sam suddenly wished she was wearing her dress blues, because they always garnered her a lot of respect. But she hadn't had those things out of mothballs in months! So she stood there in her tight blue jeans, hot pink sweater and knee-high, black leather boots, with her shoulder length blonde hair mussed from her travels, feeling more like a street corner hooker then an officer in the Air Force.

"I don't know about the Major, but that other man left this morning for the airport with his female friend," she replied with a distasteful look on her wrinkled face. "I don't know where they were headed, but I heard her say they were going to have 'an awesome time'," the old lady added, quoting Tiffany's exact words. When Sam just looked at her with wide eyes, the woman continued. "So if you're another friend of his, I'd say she beat you to the punch, if you know what I mean?"

Sam mumbled a 'thank you' and left. And since she had sent the taxi away, she just began to walk, not really paying any attention to wear she was going. Two hours later, after finally coming to her senses, Sam arrived back at the hotel, where she went directly to her room. Then she phoned the airline and bought a ticket back to Denver on the next flight.

All the way back to Colorado she criticized herself for being so stupid. 'Why couldn't I tell that Jack wanted out of our relationship? How stupid can I be not to see he was losing interest in me?' she asked herself repeatedly.

Before leaving for Egeria she had dinner with Janet and Daniel in the SGC commissary. They were not surprised to hear that work was not the reason Sam and Jack had postponed the wedding. They were, however, shocked to hear what Sam had to tell them about her visit to DC.

"Sam, there's no way Jack would do that to you! I just can't believe that about him," Daniel said, shaking his head.

"Maybe he just needed to have one last fling. I knew a guy once who did something similar," Janet offered.

"Wasn't that your ex? Remember that after you married him he was still trying to have one last fling...one after the other...from what I've heard," Sam commented.

"Yes, he did have an eye for the ladies. But the lovemaking was totally hot!" she giggled.

"Hey! I resent that," Daniel pouted, and Janet patted his hand.

"Don't worry, honey, you're way better than him!" Janet assured him.

Sam just looked at the two and grinned. It was good to see her two best friends so happy. Why she and Jack couldn't be like that, she just didn't understand. Had their attraction to each other been only physical after all? No, she was certain she really loved him, even with all of his quirks...of which there were quite a few. He was stubborn, opinionated, messy around the house and always breaking things, and he snored. But she loved the stupid man anyway, damn it! However, whether she loved him or not, she wasn't about to try and tie him down when he obviously preferred his freedom!

By the time she got home to Tok'ona, she had made a decision. This would be easier for him, since he was obviously finding it impossible to tell her how he really felt. So with the help of one of the sergeants who lived in their building, she moved Jack's things to what was commonly referred to as 'the bachelors' quarters in a different apartment building. Sam figured he could take care of the paper work when he got back.

Back in Minnesota, Jack and his friends were having a very nice time. Or at least Charlie and Tiffany were having a nice time. Jack was pretending that everything was peachy, when in fact he was missing Sam and Mellie more and more each minute. He had tried to let the peaceful surroundings calm his thoughts, so that he could consider options other than going to Jacob and having it out with him in a knock down, drag out fight. But no matter how he tried to relax and think sensibly, he couldn't. Jack hated that man with a passion, and no amount of peace and quiet was going to change that! And so, after telling Charlie and Tiffany to enjoy themselves, Jack got a ride to the small local airport from the neighbor down the road. After taking two commuter planes to Chicago, Jack finally made it to Colorado and the SGC, where he was greeted by a worried Daniel Jackson, who told him some very startling and upsetting news.

"She was here?!" Jack asked, unable to believe what he'd just heard. Daniel had caught him in the hallway outside the gate room. It wasn't a very private location, but at least the only people nearby were upstairs in the control room.

"Yes, she had just gotten back from DC, and she was not very happy, Jack. Apparently she went to DC to talk to you. She said she missed you...a lot. But when she got there, a lady in Kawalsky's building told her you'd just left for the airport with your girl friend. Sam was very upset," Daniel said excitedly. "I tried to tell her you'd never fool around on her, but..." Daniel shrugged his shoulders. He still couldn't believe Jack would do such a thing.

"Oh, my God, that was Tiffany!" Daniel's eyebrows shot up, and Jack went on to explain. "She Charlie's current girlfriend. We were on our way to my cabin...all three of us. In fact, I just left them there." Daniel's mouth did a good imitation of a frog waiting on a lily pad, hoping to catch a fly.

"Charlie had something else he had to do first, so he met Tiffany and me at the airport. Crap! I can't believe this!" Jack yelled, and then he ran up the stairs to see how soon he could use the gate to get home, leaving Daniel to follow him. Jack was told he could leave just as soon as SG-5 reported in, which was due to happen any minute.

"Jack, you two have really got to start communicating better," Daniel advised.

"Yah, I know that Daniel, but you know how I am."

"Yes, I do, and that's one reason I don't see why Sam puts up with you," Daniel said, but he was smiling and patting Jack on the shoulder as he said it.

"Thanks. Just what I needed to hear, Danny," Jack said sarcastically.

"Sorry, Jack, but you are a hard one to figure out. Just try telling Sam how you feel. Don't be afraid to express your feelings in words, and don't keep things from her anymore."

"Good advice, Daniel. I'll try and remember it. I just hope Sam's still willing to listen," Jack said with a wry smile.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine

Jack arrived back on Egeria late in the evening, worn out from worrying and from his travels. He had gone to Earth thinking he needed time away from Sam, to figure out what he should do. But each day that he had been away from her and Mellie made him miss them all the more! And the result had been that he could not think straight or make any decisions about their future. And then Daniel had hit him with some very bad news; Sam had been to Earth to find him, which wasn't so bad in and of itself. The bad part was that instead of finding him, what she had found was a mistake...a lie that would surely drive a permanent wedge between them, unless he could get her to listen to the truth!

And so here he was, climbing the stairs of their building and praying she'd give him a chance to explain. "Please let her believe me!" he added aloud, as he approached their door. If she didn't believe what he had to tell her about Tiffany, he knew there would be no hope for them, and his stomach lurched at the thought of spending the rest of his life without her...without his kids. It just wasn't an option he could live with!

When Jack went to put his key in the door lock, it wouldn't fit. He scrambled to try and find the right key in the dimly lit hallway, but kept coming up with the only one he knew should work. Finally he began knocking on the door. And when no one answered, he began pounding and yelling.

"Sam! What the fuck is going on! Open this door right now!" he yelled.

The next door neighbor, Captain Riley, stuck his head out the door of his unit and stared at Jack. "Hey, General. Ah...is there a problem?"

"Yah, there's a problem alright! My damned key won't work!" Jack knew that Riley had a wife and two kids who were no doubt trying to sleep, but right now nothing matter to Jack except getting to Sam!

"I think that may be because the lock has been changed, Sir," he said quietly.

"The lock's been changed! What the hell for?" Jack shouted back.

"Sir, if you'll wait until morning, I'm sure Major Carter will be glad to answer all your questions at that time," the Captain suggested calmly, as though speaking to an escaped lunatic.

"I'm not waiting until morning to get into my apartment or to see Sam!" Jack yelled in return, and then he stepped back and kicked in the door, breaking the hinges loose. The door fell back at an angle, and Jack gave it a shove with his boot and stepped over it and into the apartment. Capt. Riley went to calm his worried wife and to call the MP's.

By this time Sam had pulled on her jeans and a sweater and was standing in the living room waiting for him.

"You can't just come barging in here," she said quietly. "You'll have to leave, Sir."

"Why should I leave? This is my apartment too!"

"Not anymore, Sir. I had your things moved to the bachelors' quarters. Apartment number three," she added. He blinked at her, not believing what he was hearing.

"You're throwing me out?!"

"Yes, I guess you could say that, Sir," she replied.

"Don't I get anything to say about it?" he asked, walking over to stand just outside her personal space. There was just a single lamp lit in the big room, but Jack could see that she'd been crying...a lot. He put out a hand to touch her cheek, but she backed away.

"Please don't."

"Let me get this straight, Sam. Rather than give me a chance to defend myself, you've already tried and convicted me?" Part of him couldn't believe what he was hearing. Another part...his darker insecure side...had expected this. It was certain he didn't deserve her anyway, and it knew that something would take her away from him again.

"I don't know what you expect from me," she said, hanging her head. She really did not want to cry in front of him. Not now! She didn't want him to know how much this was hurting...how much he could get to her, damn it!

"What is it that you think I've done, Sam? Tell me!" She turned and walked away a few steps, stopping at the sofa with her back to him.

"I know you've been with another woman...in DC."

"You mean Tiffany? Charlie's girlfriend?" Sam turned around and stared at him, her brow wrinkled.

"I don't know. I guess. So is that how you met her?" she asked.

"Yes, I met her through Charlie. She's Charlie's girlfriend. In fact, they're up at my cabin right now, enjoying themselves. That's where we were headed when Charlie's nosy neighbor saw me and Tiffany catching a cab. We picked Charlie up on the way to the airport, but she didn't tell you that part, did she?" he asked smugly. A look of shocked realization came over Sam's face, as what he was saying sunk in.

"Sam, you know me better than that. At least you should! I would never hurt you, Sam. At least not deliberately. I admit I do some pretty stupid things sometimes, but... I'm just not that kinda guy!" he insisted. "Besides, why would I look elsewhere when I've got the only woman I want?"

"Oh, Jack, I'm such an idiot!" she cried as she threw herself into his arms. He held her tight, his lips brushing her hair as he spoke.

"No, you're not an idiot, Sam. You're a little insecure maybe, but not an idiot."

"I've missed you so much!" she sobbed as she allowed her tears to fall freely until they dripped from her chin.

"Shhhh. It's okay now, sweetheart," he crooned as he kissed away the wetness on her cheeks. "I missed you too. You have no idea how much! I'm gonna go put that door back in place, and then I'm gonna show you exactly how much I missed you. Would that be okay with you?"

Sam nodded and then watched as he went to the doorway. Just then two marines came marching up to the door. Jack stepped into the hallway and spoke to them, explaining that the lock smith had made an error and changed the wrong lock. He sent them on their way, thinking he was glad to be a big wheel around here. Even if they didn't believe him, at least they left when he gave them the order. He'd make sure the paper work on the incident never saw the light of day.

With renewed energy, Jack picked up the door and pushed it back into the opening from the inside. He figured he could fix it tomorrow. Right now he was going to make love to Sam; there was nothing any more urgent than that!

They walked to the bedroom together hand in hand, and then Jack went over and took a look at Mellie, who was sound asleep in her bed. In the light from the other room he could just see her little lips as they moved in her sleep, her blonde curls spread out around her head like a halo. She truly was his angel, and Jack was so very glad to be back home with her once again.

Sam pulled on his hand, dragging him back to the side of their bed. Jack watched with lust-filled eyes as she undressed, surprised to find she was wearing no underwear.

"No panties or bra, Sam?" he commented quietly, cupping her tits in his big hands. Usually he could easily fit her breasts in his hands, but now they were much larger, spilling over his fingers enticingly. Jack liked them fine either way, but there was something about a pregnant woman's belly and tits that he found to be a real turn on. He remembered thinking the same thing about his first wife, but that was a memory he'd rather not dwell on, and so he shoved it to the back of his mind and put it with all the other unhappy memories he carried around with him. There were many.

"When someone's banging down your door, you don't take time to put on underwear, Jack," she replied saucily. Then she crawled onto the bed, positioning herself in front of him on her knees. He stood there while she unfastened his jeans, pulling his erection out of the opening in his boxers with her delicate hand. The feel of her soft, warmth caressing him made him shiver with anticipation. It had been almost two weeks since they'd made love, and he hoped he could hold off long enough to satisfy her.

"Ah, I see. You have a point," he said with a laugh. "I guess I'm lucky you didn't take the time to get your gun," he added with a grin.

"Yes, you probably should be. I'm a good shot, as you know."

And then he pushed her back onto the bed, watching her move over to her side of the bed as he took off his clothes. In three seconds flat he was covering her body with his.

"I know what a good shot you are, Sam. That's one reason I was always glad you were my 2iC. I've always been proud of you, Sam, and confident in your abilities as a soldier and as a leader. And the science part...well, that was just icing on the cake!"

"Icing on the cake reminds me...I forgot to cancel our wedding cake. You know it's scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. I'm afraid we'll be eating cake for weeks," she said with a chuckle that Jack could feel all the way to his toes, as he lay stretched out above her. He could also feel the bump that was their baby growing inside her, and it made him feel sad to think that they had almost screwed things up between them.

"I'm sorry I went off without telling you. I just didn't know what else to do, or what else I could say to make you..." He stopped. He still didn't know what to say! Should he tell her to choose between her father and him? Was that a fair thing to ask of her? He rested his forehead on her breast bone and breathed out a sigh.

"To make me what? See that I have to choose between you and my father? I already know that, Jack. And I've made my choice; I choose you! You're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with! I love you, Jack O'Neill, and I always have!" Jack had lifted his head and was staring at her with eyes that seemed as black as night in the darkened room.

"You mean it?" He was astonished that she'd picked him over her father.

"Yes, Jack, I mean it. I've decided not to have anything to do with my father, until he changes his attitude toward you. And I've decided something else too. If you really want to retire, then I think that's what you should do," she said, smiling. "I think you'll make a fine housewife," she added with a chuckle.

"Hey, no smart-ass remarks, woman! But I'm glad you've changed your mind, because I've already talked to the powers that be about it. I gave them six months to find my replacement," Jack informed her. And then he bent his head down, so he could nibble on her collar bone.

"You did?" She wasn't really surprised that he'd done it, and she wasn't as upset as she thought she might be. She was just very glad he was back in her arms where he belonged!

"Uh huh. And I also did something else," he said as he worked his way up the side of her neck and to her left ear, stopping to nuzzle and suck the skin just below it. Sam literally purred.

"Jaaack!" she whined, finding it hard to concentrate on their conversation. "Tell me what else," she begged, rubbing her head against his like a cat in heat.

"I talked the President into letting me buy the mountain."

"What? What mountain?" Sam was beginning to think that bump on the head he'd gotten recently had scrambled his brain.

"bOur/b mountain, Sam! The one where we like to go for outdoor activities," he said, leering at her in the dim light. She could see the lust glowing in his eyes, and she knew she was about to be ravaged.

"Outdoor activities? What would those be exactly? Can we do them indoors too?"

"We can and will...in the house I'm going to build for you on our mountain."

"Oh, I like the sound of that, Jack! Now refresh my memory about those activities," she begged, turning her head so that their lips could meet.

"Gladly, Major," he said against her lips, before his tongue plundered her mouth.

The kiss took her breath away, but left her wanting more, as Jack suddenly sat back on his heels and stared down at her.

"Turn over, Sam. "I'm wanna take you from behind," he said as he reached for her hips and flipped her onto her belly, helping her to reposition her body beneath him. Then he bent down and kissed the yellow rose tattoo, wishing it didn't remind him so much of a particularly bad day in his life. Maybe, he thought, she should change the color to red, his favorite!

"Stay face down on the bed and just lift this leg," he coaxed as he pushed her left leg up and out to one side, so she was laying mostly on her right hip. Then he reached between her legs and opened her swollen lips with his fingers, so his aching cock could find its home. In two quick thrusts he was inside her as far as this position would allow. It wasn't deep, but the change in angle created a lot of friction, and Jack was able to hit her G-spot with each thrust.

"Oh, yeah, Jack, that's it! Keep moving, honey! Just like that," she gasped as she clutched at the sheet next to her head.

Jack listened to Sam's whispered words of encouragement, and he did as she asked. He could feel her body tensing as she neared her climax. He slid his right hand under her breast and pulled her closer to him. Then he slipped his left hand underneath her from the other side and found her swollen clit, rubbing it until she screamed his name, her cry mostly swallowed up in the mattress. Jack didn't stop, but continued to pump into her, his speed increasing as he felt the burning inside his balls heralding his release. And then he was coming too, his cries joining hers and filling the otherwise quiet room.

As they lay spooned together afterwards, they could hear Malinda making a few noises as though she might be waking up. Both Sam and Jack held their breaths, hoping that the baby would go back to sleep. Both of them knew what it was like to sit up at night with a baby who was wide awake!

"We're moving to a larger apartment this week," Jack stated. Sam sighed contentedly and snuggled closer to his chest. Soon they were both sound asleep.

The End

Coming soon: "Pink Is For Girls". If you want to read it now, or if you want to read more of my ziva stories and find out about my new book, please go to my website: stargateforever. Thanks!


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